Stevenson Funeral Home: 70 years of celebrating life

May 9—DICKINSON — For over 70 years Stevenson Funeral Home has served the families of those who have lost a loved one. They currently have six locations across southwest North Dakota and southeast Montana.

Nic Stevenson, one of the company's five funeral directors, was raised in the Baker, MT, area. Stevenson said his grandfather and great uncle started the family business during the 1950s in the Miles City/Baker, MT, area. Nic's father ultimately took over the business and moved the family to Dickinson in 2000 after purchasing the Mischel-Olson Funeral and eventually merging with Price-Murphy.

Having spent much of his childhood in the funeral home environment, he worked there helping grieving families make arrangements high school years and grew to love it.

"I saw how much gratitude and appreciation they had. That's what lured me to the profession," Stevenson said.

He noted they offer preplanning for funerals to figure out the basics, emphasizing this reduces stress on loved ones when the unfortunate time comes and gives them greater peace of mind in knowing they're more precisely carrying out final wishes.

"We help them with filing paperwork, putting together a life story, talking about various service options and helping them find the best fit," he said. "We want to spend as much time as we can tailoring that service to be about the individual... We try to distinguish ourselves and allow it to be their service and not just another service."

Plans are made to set up displays and photographs depicting the hobbies they enjoyed throughout life. These may include a saddle, handmade quilt or a bowling trophy. Sometimes they'll even bring a classic car or prized motorcycle to display in the parking lot. Some families struggle to bring this up while others approach it with ease.

"A lot of families that come in and go through the process are amazed at how simple, easy and painless it is. But the biggest challenge is just walking through the door," he said, noting that even this can be avoided as Stevenson also provides in-home consultations. "We want to make sure we do whatever we can to make them feel comfortable."

Stevenson said he always enjoys helping celebrate a long life well-lived with touching stories from grandchildren and even great-grandchildren, but that tragic deaths can be more of a struggle.

"You do go through a challenging time with the family and become very close, especially when it's parents that are burying their child," Stevenson said. "It's given me a greater appreciation for my kids, just how dear our time on Earth is and how important it is to make the most of every day... Because we don't know about tomorrow. To go on the trip that you talk about, not wait until retirement because we don't know if that's promised."

Nic experienced a tragic loss of his own in late 2021 when his younger brother Brandon passed away of a sudden illness at the age of 37. After the family moved to Dickinson, Brandon excelled as an athlete in Trinity High School's Class of 2003. He then graduated from West Point in 2007. He served 10 years in the U.S. Army, earning many distinguished awards including the Army Ranger and Special Forces Tabs, as well as Combat Infantryman, Combat Action, Air Assault, Airborne badges, and the distinguished title Green Beret. Serving throughout Africa and the Middle East, Brandon was awarded two Bronze Stars for valor in combat.

Nic said his deep Christian faith is crucial in helping him cope with tough losses, while providing comfort to the grieving friends and family of those passed on.

"My faith is what gets me through day to day. I'm so grateful for the blessings that I have, to be able to share that in my service to the families... the comfort that I can provide. That's one of the best opportunities I've been given in this profession," Stevenson said.

He's built many lasting friendships over the years and made countless joyful memories in remembering those who've passed.

"There's a lot of stories that happen in here that not everyone knows. You know, where grandpa migrated from or came to the area from, how he and grandma met is a lot of times a story that only grandma knows, and she shares it in this setting... It's such an intimate time," he said. "Sometimes it takes a death before we actually drop what we're doing and reassemble as a family."

Fellow Funeral Director Kirsten Robertson said she also loves the job.

"I enjoy being involved in the communities, being able to help families in their time of need and being that person that they feel comfortable going to," she said.

Something Stevenson recently began offering unique to this region is a columbarium, accompanied by a legacy garden. He said that approximately half of all North Dakotans are cremated when they die.

"The columbarium and legacy garden give them a temporary proper burial place for the cremated remains until they determine what they want to do. Or maybe it ends up being the permanent placement there," Stevenson said, adding that the City of Dickinson has run out of space in their mausoleum. "It just felt like it was in a need that our community wanted."

A mausoleum houses entire bodies, while a columbarium stores cremated remains. Columbaria date back to the early Roman Empire, where they were typically found partially or completely underground. In modern America they're more common in coastal states with limited land for cemeteries and sea levels less conducive to traditional burials.

Another unique offering is their horse-drawn hearse, which can be a popular choice for ranchers and first responders.